Ban urges Syria, Iran to respect arms embargo

“The Syrian Arab Republic, other regional states and the Islamic Republic of Iran have a particular responsibility to ensure that the provisions related to the arms embargo” are respected, Ban said Friday in endorsing a report to the U.N. Security Council by a U.N. team that assessed the porous Syria-Lebanon border. “I urge the Syrian Arab Republic to do more to control its border with Lebanon and look forward to specific proposals from the Syrian authorities.”

The Security Council resolution that ended last summer’s Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon mandated an end to arms smuggling to Hezbollah. Israel and Lebanon say Syria and Iran are flaunting the ban.